Bus Service: Winter 2012: Timetable Confirmation

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A decisoin made 14 September 2012:

Decision Reference: MD-T-2012-0074
Decision Summary Title :	2012 Winter Bus Service Confirmation		Date of Decision Summary:	10 September 2012
Decision Summary Author:	Transport Logistics Manager		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Confirmation of 2012 Winter Bus Services		Date of Written Report:	10 September 2012
Written Report Author:	Transport Logistics Manager		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Confirmation of 2012 Winter Bus Services
Decision(s): The Minister approved the following: The winter 2012 bus timetable will run from Sunday 30 September 2012 until 31 December 2012; and The changes to bus routes as detailed in the report.
Reason(s) for Decision: Although five comments from members of the public were received following advertising in the Jersey Gazette and at Parish Halls, it is considered that the proposals as planned will provide a sensible overall improvement to services for the public, and represent better targeting of capacity to passenger demand, with the potential to increase revenue through additional usage.
Resource Implications: These proposals represent an additional cost of £140,477.74, fully covered by additional bus fare revenue earned earlier in 2012 and by funding available in the 2012 sustainable transport budget.
Action required: Advise Connex of the decision. Advise the members of the public who submitted comments of the Minister’s decision.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Bus Service: Winter 2012: Timetable Confirmation

TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

CONFIRMATION OF 2012 WINTER BUS SERVICES

Purpose of the Report

To seek the Minister‘s approval of a revised bus timetable from 30 September 2012 (“the 2012 winter bus services”).

Background

The Minister approved ‘in principle’ the proposals for the revised bus timetable on 21 August 2012 under MD-T-2012-0072 refers. As this represents changes to omnibus licences, under Article 24 of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law 1935, the Minister had to consult on the proposals prior to a final decision being made.

Discussion

1. The proposals can be summarised as follows:

A. Later evening peak journey on service 12

To depart at 17:10 rather than 17:00 which had proved to be too early for commuters. This was proposed following some requests earlier in the year from passengers.

B. Revised morning schoolday journey on service 4

After comments from parents and Grainville school staff, it was proposed to divert this journey via Langley Avenue to minimise the distance pupils had to walk from the nearest bus stop.

C. Changes to service 25

Four journeys will now serve the northern section of Grande Route de St Laurent. The earliest of the four is an existing weekday-only departure which currently operates only between Carrefour Selous and St Helier; it is being extended to start at Haute Croix and finish at Grainville School. This is in response to feedback from parents and staff about the length of time pupils are on board the parallel school service 57, which has to call at Haute Vallee School before Grainville.

Additionally the 14:05 departure from St Helier was proposed to leave 40 minutes later which would better serve St John’s Primary School.

D. Service 3A

Due to major roadworks requiring a full closure of Route de la Hougue Bie after the morning peak period on weekdays from 23 October, an alternative route and timetable was proposed to operate during this period. St Helier departure and arrival times remain unchanged, but beyond Five Oaks the route was altered to operate via Princes Tower Road, Maufant Vineries, Durrell, St Martin’s Public Hall, St Saviour’s Hospital, St Martin’s Church and Maufant. Because this diversion route is substantially different to the regular 3A service, it was seen as desirable that it should appear in the timetable booklet.

2. An advertisement was prepared for publication in the Gazette section of the Jersey Evening Post on 24 August 2012, with a deadline for comments of Friday 07 September. A press release was issued to coincide with the advertisement and all Constables and Parish Halls were contacted with details to display.

3. As of Thursday 06 September the Department had received comments from five people:

(a) A lady who had previously requested improvements to buses connecting Trinity and Grainville School and was supportive of the proposed change to service 4;

(b) A member of Grainville school staff who was also supportive of the service 4 change;

(c) A gentleman who made a number of observations and suggestions, pointing out a couple of typographical errors in the proposed timetables;

(d) The Constable of St Brelade who highlighted a need for an additional departure from St Aubin on Friday / Saturday evenings to deal with extra demand following pub closing time;

(e) A lady who suggested that a later evening journey on service 4 would be beneficial.

4. Some minor additional changes will be incorporated into the timetable, without increased cost to TTS, following further discussion with Connex:

The morning schoolday journey on service 4 referred to above – Extended to start at Les Platons at 07:35 rather than Trinity Church at 07:42;

A service 8 journey at 18.10 which was operated between October 2011 and May 2012 – Sparsely-used and previously withdrawn during the summer 2012 season without complaint, to be omitted from this winter’s timetable;

A weekday-only journey on service 23, arriving in St Helier at 07:50 - To be extended to Haute Vallee School, arriving there at 08:10 and compensating for the diversion of the above service 4 journey away from the southern section of Grands Vaux;
An additional journey on service 15 as per the Constable of St Brelade’s request above, to depart from St Aubin at approximately 23:30.

Comments

The cost of the winter 2012 proposals totals £140,477.74 for the period 30 September 2012 to 31 December 2012. A cost saving of £2,988.18 compared to the same period in 2011 was identified in the ‘in principle’ decision, however this has been offset by an uplift of 2.83% in the payments to Connex which becomes effective from the anniversary of the contract. The total is therefore £877.76 more than the same period in 2011. It is expected that this sum will be recovered from increased fare revenue arising from the enhanced services.

There have been a relatively small number of comments concerning these proposals. It was felt that most were neither sufficiently numerous nor sufficiently adverse in nature to justify rejection.

It is recommended that the Minister approve the proposals without alteration for implementation on 30 September 2012, with the inclusion of the additional changes at point 4 above which are non-contentious and overall represent further small improvements to the public transport network. Connex have confirmed that these revisions can be accommodated and will appear in publicity material.

Recommendation:-

The Minister is recommended to approve the following:

That the winter 2012 bus timetable will run from Sunday 30 September 2012 until 31 December 2012; and

The changes to bus routes as detailed in this report.

Reason(s) for Recommendations

Although five comments from members of the public and parish officials were received following advertising in the Jersey Gazette and at Parish Halls, it is considered that the proposals as planned will provide a sensible overall improvement to services for the public. The proposals represent better targeting of capacity to passenger demand, with the potential to increase revenue through additional usage.

Actions Required

Advise Connex of the decision.

Advise the members of the public who submitted comments of the Minister’s decision.

Resource Implications

These proposals represent an additional cost of £140,477.74, fully covered by additional bus fare revenue earned earlier in 2012 and by funding available in the 2012 sustainable transport budget.

Written by:	Transport Logistics Manager

Approved by:	Director of Transport